Jan. 10, 2015 Final Stats
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LOS ANGELES - A second-half defensive stand that held San Diego without a field goal for nearly nine minutes turned a 13-point deficit into a four point lead for LMU women's basketball Saturday afternoon. But the Toreros would come up with key buckets and free throws down the stretch in a 67-59 setback for the Lions in Gersten Pavilion.
Senior Taylor Anderson was brilliant for the Lions (2-14, 0-5 WCC) , pouring in a career-high 25 points, including 17 in the first half. Makenzie Cast added 14 points and Sophie Taylor had 10 for the Lions who shot 40 percent from the field for the game.
Malina Hood led San Diego (14-2, 5-1 WCC) with 21 points, including a key triple that pushed the Torero lead to four, 63-59, with 13 seconds remaining. Sophia Ederaine finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for USD.
The teams combined to start 0-for-6 from the field before Maya Hood put USD on the board with a layup at the 17:52 mark. Anderson would respond with a layup and the and-one free throw for LMU. The senior was the only Lion to find her mark early as she tallied LMU's first nine points while USD opened up a 20-9 advantage.
Taylor would hit back-to-back threes just inside the 10-minute mark and Anderson would knock down her 10th and 11th points, trimming the Torero lead to just three, 20-17 with 8:39 remaining.
San Diego would push the spread back to double digits inside four minutes and carry a 40-30 lead into the break.
Malina Hood would hit a three to open the second half and sister Maya Hood knocked down a jumper with 15:44 to go as the Toreros held to a 46-37 lead. But from their, the Lions defense kicked in.
Forcing tough shots and turnovers by USD, the Lions began to chip away. Anderson hit one of two free throws, Cast drained a three and Anderson added a jumper as the Lions quickly cut the spread to three, 46-43. A Bree Alford layup off an Emily Ben-Jumbo assist made it a one-point game and Taylor sank two free throws out of the under-12 media time out to give the Lions their first lead since early in the first half.
Maya Hood halted LMU's 10-0 run with a free throw at 9:21 and Malina Hood knocked down a pair to knot the score at 49-49 with 8:54 to play. Anderson responded with back-to-back jumpers, giving LMU a four-point, 53-49 advantage.
Sophia Ederaine would finally snap the Toreros 8:50 spans without a field goal, hitting a jumper in the paint with 6:51 to go. Nine straight San Diego points made it 58-53, but a Cast three and Ben-Jumbo layup gave the game its fifth tie, 58-58, with 2:16 to play.
A Malina Hood jumper gave USD a two-point cushion and after Anderson hit just one of two free throws, Hood drained her fifth three of the game at the 13-second mark, effectively sealing the win.
LMU continues West Coast Conference action on Thursday, Jan. 15, traveling to face Portland at 7 p.m.
